Since the two groups approach the Bible with different assumptions about its
nature, and look for different content, one can expect that their conclusions
will be very different:

Factor

Typical conservative view

Typical progressive view

The Bible

The Bible was written by authors who
were directly inspired by God. Thus their writings are
seen as inerrant -- completely free of error
as originally written. They are often interpreted as "God's Word."

The Bible was written
by authors who were intent on promoting their own evolving religious and
spiritual beliefs. The writers lived in a pre-scientific age, which
treated slavery,
genocide, mass murder, and the
oppression of women as
acceptable behaviors.

Bible's authority

The Bible as the actual Word of God and is the prime source of all
religious, spiritual and moral truth. Whenever the
Bible and science disagree, the former must be right.

Since meaningful scientific study of sexual orientation did not begin
until circa 1950 CE, biblical authors had little or no awareness of the topic. When
the Bible and science disagree, we have to give major weighting to the findings of
modern-day human
sexuality researchers.

Creation stories

They interpret the Garden of Eden story
in the book of Genesis as indicating the fall of humanity into sin.
They view homosexual behavior as one manifestation of that sin.

Most interpret the creation story in Genesis as composed of
myths derived from earlier Middle Eastern pagan writings. Some
do not
accept that the story implies the fall of humanity from a holy state. Since
homosexuality is found in many non-human species, it must be a natural
development and not due to sin.

Basis of study

Conservative theologians typically look for proof texts -- passages that clearly and directly deal with
the topic. These are commonly referred to as "clobber" passages
described in this section.

Derived "Sola Scriptura" -- solely from the Bible, according to their interpretation of what the Bible says. Denomination tradition is also important.

What the authors of the Bible intended to say to their culture + what church
tradition says + what reason and science tell us + what personal
experience informs us, with stress on the latter two.

God's expectations

Christians should follow the Bible, God's word. It is the source
of absolute truth, is fixed and unchangeable for all cultures and all eras.

Christians should be open to the Holy Spirit teaching
the need for change. This has happened in the past centuries concerning matters like
slavery and the role of women.
It is happening now over equal rights for those with a
homosexual orientation. The next conflict will likely be over gender
identity and transsexuality.

Sponsored link:

Rigidity of beliefs and the possibility of dialogue:

We have exchanged Emails with hundreds of visitors to this web site about the Bible and
homosexuality. Most fall into one of two groups:

Religious conservatives feel that the Bible teaches
that homosexual behavior is always a serious sin. Some regard it as the most
serious of sins; others view it as being on a par with other sins. Allowing sexually active
gays and lesbians to be ordained, or to have their committed relationships
recognized by the church would involve a drastic and unacceptable lowering of church
standards. The church would be condoning sin. Most also oppose including sexual orientation in
hate-crime, and
in anti-discrimination legislation. Most oppose same-sex marriage; they prefer that
loving committed same-sex couples be regarded as simple roommates without
legal protections, with their children regarded by the state as illegitimate.

We have been unable to change the beliefs or actions of any of these hundreds
of people on even one point related to homosexuality. Their views appear
to be absolutely rigid.

It is doubtful that much progress towards compromise on homosexual rights can
be made by means of dialogue among people who have adopted firm beliefs. However, we still advocate attempting such dialogue on topics like bullying and civil rights for sexual minorities because the stakes are so high. Every year thousands of LGB and transgender youth give up hope that it will ever get better for them, and committ suicide. Through dialogue, but only if they care, the opposing sides might be able to develop policies and programs to prevent this tragic loss of life.

We
don't expect that the attached essays will change the beliefs of many visitors
to this web site who have already made up their mind. However, the essays may
help people at least understand opinions that are not their own. They also might help people
who have not yet made up their mind.

In the absence of formal dialogue, countless numbers of youth and others within the LGB community are risking coming out of "the closet" and openly revealing their sexual orientation to friends and family at some considerable physical and emotional risk. They are changing people's minds about the nature and morality of same-sex relationships. One result of this is the gradual increase in the national polls of acceptance of same-sex behavior as moral activity among gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. The percentage of American adults who support same-sex marriage is also increasing. As of early 2012, both factors have attained majority support in national polls, and the margin between percentage support and opposition is increasing at about 2 percentage points a year/20 percentage points per decade.